What's Been Missing
by MarcWinter
Summary: Samus is distant from the others in the Mansion. But she finds something that had been missing in her life and she doesn't want it taken away again.
1. Chapter 1

**I figured I could give a Smash Bros story a shot. On a side note, if Metroid or Smash was ever an anime, Stephanie Young should voice Samus in the english dub. AMIRIGHT!?**

**So, what I mean by that is when I write Samus, I always imagine her sounding like Ms. Young.**

**AMIRITE THO?!**

Smash Mansion has a rather erratic schedule, always varying from day to day. Brawls always occur randomly, the fighters only finding out the times of when they fight the morning of. If they happen to fight at all that day. Regardless, there were two consistencies. The first being that there were always exactly 10 matches a day. However, there were more variables, like those matches could range from 2-4 people and be free-for-all or teams. It was all decided by Master Hand.

The second consistency was that there was always a 2 hour lunch break for the fighters starting at noon and ending at 2. If someone had a match right at 2, they would usually eat really early or just put off eating until after the match. The dining area was quaintly fancy. It had simple white walls, with wooden borders. There were a few tables scattered around the room and each seated 6 people each and had white table clothes. There were 2 chandeliers hanging above the room, which gave off a yellow light which, when reflected off the walls, gave the room a very calming feeling.

The fighters made their food in the kitchen. It had numerous tools for making a meal. It had a more old fashioned set up for the likes of the Hyruleans and Akaneians and relatively modern set ups for people like the Eaglelanders and Kantonians. Of course, fighters like Pikachu and Jigglypuff can't make their own food, so the Pokemon Trainer does it for them happily.

Everyone is allowed to eat in the dining hall, it's often used to talk about matches or each other's homelands. There are a few people that choose to eat in their rooms, however. Ganondorf, Meta Knight, Bowser, Wolf, and R.O.B never ate with the others. While some simply don't like to mingle with others, Meta Knight needs a warrior's solitude and since R.O.B doesn't eat, he returns to his room and enters sleep mode. Some people switch between eating alone and joining the others, like Snake, Lucario and Samus. Finally, there were some that the others wish wouldn't join them, Like Wario and Dedede.

Samus left the Transporting Room before anybody else, just to get out into the hallway. The Transporting Room gets crowded with four people in it and after a big fight it gets kind of smelly. She took off her helmet and glanced at the clock and saw it was 11:30. Hopefully she would be able to make her food earlier than the others if she got there at the right time. She decided she would shower right away instead of going for a run today. As she began walking away, the others came out of the room.

"You suck!" Pit said to Falco, laughing. "I don't think you're reflector should hold its own longer than my shield."

Falco smirked at him. "What can I say?"

Ness ran out after them. "Second place is pretty good, don't you think?" He asked the two.

Pit smiled at the boy. "Definitely! Honestly, I think it was the best any of us could've hoped for. Samus is really hard to fight, it's no surprise she won." The guys looked around to see where Samus had gone. They saw her about to turn the corner down the hall

Falco called out to her. "Hey, Samus! Where are you headed off to already?

"My room." She answered, without looking back at them. She turned the corner, out of their sight.

"Will we see you at lunch?" Pit asked. There was no answer, but they were pretty sure she had heard the question.

"Samus isn't very friendly." Ness commented.

"No kidding." Falco spat, annoyed with the bounty hunter. The three of them began walking to the main lobby

"Why is that?" The young boy asked.

"Aren't you the one who can read minds?" Falco asked, sarcastically.

Ness pouted at the comment. "You know I can't do that…"

"Lay off him Falco." Pit stepped in. Falco just grunted in response.

"Has anyone ever talked to her?" Ness asked the angel.

"Sure, a few of us have had small conversations with her. But she doesn't really say much."

"What does she say?" Falco asked.

"Well, first, the only way to start a conversation with her is to talk about fighting. Then, you can try to segue that into more casual stuff, but once you start asking about her, she gives you a short answer and leaves." Pit explained.

"Short answer?" Ness asked.

"Yeah. Once Sonic and I were preparing our food at the same time as her. He and I were talking about team battles. I mentioned it was odd for me, since I usually fight alone. He talked about his friends who help him sometimes, then asked Samus how she usually fought. She didn't even look at us, but said 'Alone.' Sonic asked her why that was. She said 'The only option I have' then left the kitchen." Pit said, shaking his head.

Ness began thinking. "Hmm…"

Pit shrugged. "The woman is an enigma."

Falco snorted. "I think you mean a b-"

"Not in front of Ness!" Pit yelled, shoving Falco.

Ness looked at Pit. "Come on, I know what he was going to say."

Samus entered the shower. She didn't dislike anybody there, she didn't know them well enough to make that decision. She simply saw no purpose in connecting with them. This… situation, as she liked to call it, had an end, just like the last two. She didn't want to connect if she would just leave and not see them again for who knows how long. Best not to take a risk. Besides, there's no guarantee everybody will be back next time.

She finished up and put her Zero Suit on. She sat on her bed, then collapsed on her back. She didn't have another match until 5, so she had some time to rest before warming up. The bed was more comfortable than she imagined it would be, and she quickly fell asleep.

Samus slowly opened her eyes, then suddenly realized what had happened and sat straight up. The clock said 1:00. Samus sighed and stood up. She didn't lose too much time by falling asleep, but lunch had well started by now and everybody would be out in the dining hall.

Samus began heading for the kitchen. She walked through the first hallway and entered the main lobby. As she entered the second hallway, Olimar was leaving his room, accompanied by a handful of Pikmin. It seemed they too were going to get lunch, and Samus ended up walking right by him. Samus knew she wouldn't have to talk, though. Olimar never said much unless spoken to first and she wasn't going to speak up anytime soon. The two walked in silence, except for the occasional noise from a Pikmin.

When the entered the dining room, Olimar and his gang went for the table that Mario, Luigi, Sonic, Kirby, and Yoshi were sitting at. Samus walked to the kitchen at the other side of the dining room. On her way there, she looked to see who was all in the room.

She saw Wario and Captain Falcon arm wrestling while Donkey Kong, Diddy, Popo, and King Dedede cheered on. She saw the girls at a table, Peach, Zelda, and Nana. Pokemon Trainer took up most of a table with just his team, but he was still accompanied by Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Lucas. Lucas seemed like a kid who was more comfortable with animals than people, so Samus wasn't surprised. Link, Toon Link, Marth and Ike were at a table discussing sword styles while Game and Watch sat there silently. Nobody was sure if he ever actually ate. The last table had Fox, Falco, Pit, and Ness.

Samus silently entered the kitchen. The only other person in there was Lucario. He nodded his head at Samus, who returned it. Samus opened the refrigerator. The kitchen was always very well stocked, presumably because of Master Hand. It had all basic foods, sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, Poffins, fruits (especially bananas), vegetables, etc. If anyone wanted something special, they could leave a note on the fridge then at some point, which must've been overnight, Master Hand would make sure it was there the next day. Samus didn't question it much, as long as she was able to eat.

As she got out the ingredients for a simple turkey sandwich, Peach walked in.

"Samus!" Peach said, walking over to her with a big smile.

Samus gave a small smile to Peach, then returned to making her sandwich.

Peach looked at what the bounty hunter was doing. "Whatcha making?"

"Just a sandwich." Samus replied.

"Did you want to sit with us? With the rest of the girls, I mean. Except for Jigglypuff, but to be honest, I can never tell what those little creatures are, boys or girls." Peach said, distracting herself.

"I'm just going to eat in my room." Samus said, face not changing.

Peach gave her a look of disappointment. "That's no fun. Why don't you join us? We'd like to get to know you better!"

"No thank you."

"Come on Samus!" Peach said, whining. Samus sighed in annoyance. Lucario left the kitchen. Samus wish she could've done the same.

"Is it that important to you?" Samus said, finally making eye contact with the princess.

"Yes!"

"Then fine. Just let me finish here." Samus returned to her sandwich.

"Really? That's wonderful!" Peach said, clasping her hands together with a smile. "See you out there!"

When Peach left, Samus sighed again. So much for eating quietly, she thought.

Samus made her sandwich, grabbed an apple and a bottle of water, and went out into the dining hall. Everybody was still very lively, and it seemed as though Captain Falcon won the arm wrestle.

"Samus!" Peached called out, waving from her table.

I can see you Princess, you don't need to make a big deal of it, Samus thought, slightly annoyed.

Samus approached the table and was greeted by the overly happy smile of Peach, and the friendly smiles of Nana and Zelda.

"Hi there Samus." Zelda said.

"Hello Princess." Samus replied.

Zelda chuckled slightly. "You may call me Zelda, it's ok." Her voice was very reassuring.

"With all due respect, I feel more comfortable giving you the respect the title brings." Samus said.

"That's perfectly alright as well." Zelda nodded. "Thank you."

"Hi!" Nana spoke up. Samus nodded with a slight smile.

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed. Samus knew she didn't belong here. She didn't know how to talk to anybody and they didn't know how to talk to her.

"So…" Peach said, shuffling in her seat. "Samus, you had a fight earlier today, right?"

"I did." Samus said, taking a bite of her apple. "Against Falco, Ness, and Pit."

"How was that?" The blonde girl asked.

"Rather successful."

"You won?" Zelda asked. Samus nodded and took a sip of water.

"That's exciting!" Peach said. "They're all pretty decent fighters. You should be proud!"

Samus wasn't used to being praised like that. The comment made her smile.

"I like Pit, he's very friendly." Nana commented, taking a bite of the eggplant in front of her.

"Indeed." Zelda said, eating her salad. "A well mannered, young angel."

"And Ness is so sweet!" Peach added. "For a thirteen year old, he sure knows how to be respectful."

"He's cute!" Nana added. That made Peach and Zelda laugh, while Samus just smiled.

"Lucas tends to stick to Ness, doesn't he?" Zelda asked.

"Yeah, he's either with Ness or the Pokemon." Peach said.

"He has a dog back home, so he's probably able to feel at home with animals and Pokemon." Zelda added.

"I have a few pets in the Mushroom Kingdom. I miss them a lot, I can understand how he feels." Peach said.

"As do I." Zelda said. "There are cats and dogs running all throughout Hyrule's Castletown. I like the company of animals."

"Samus, do you have any pets?" Nana asked.

Samus looked up, kind of shocked. She assumed they forgot she was there.

"I don't really live in a place where I could have a pet." Samus told her. Nana nodded in understanding.

Peach laughed. "No alien pets?"

Samus stared down at her sandwich. "No." She said coldly.

The girls felt it could've been a sensitive subject, and they all got quiet.

Out of nowhere, a white Pikmin came over, climbed up one of the open chairs, and sat down. The girls just stare at it and it stared blankly back through its pink eyes.

"Hi." Peach said to it, confused. The Pikmin waved in reply. "Would you like to join us?" The Pikmin vigorously nodded its head.

Zelda turned her head to Samus. With a confused look, she mouthed the word, "Girl?". Samus shrugged and looked back at the little white creature.

Nana began laughing. "It's so cute! I wish I could pick you up!" She said to the Pikmin.

They saw Olimar running over to their table.

"I'm sorry about this…" He said, reaching for the Pikmin.

Peach smiled. "It's no problem at all, she can stay. Oh! Sorry, is this one a girl? I'm sorry, I can't tell."

Olimar shook his head. "Pikmin don't have genders. It must just like you guys."

"That's so sweet!" Peach said, clasping her hands together.

"Are you guys sure you don't mind?" Olimar asked.

"Of course!" Peach said.

"It's nice to have more company." Zelda said, smiling softly at the Pikmin.

"I want her to stay!" Nana said.

Olimar turned to Samus. Samus saw what she thought was fear in his eyes. Was he afraid of her?

Samus smiled at him. "It's no problem."

Olimar had a shocked look on his face, but it quickly changed to one of relief. "Thank you." He said, then went back to his table.

Nana smiled at the Pikmin. "I wish I could hug her. But I know she's poison."

"Olimar said is isn't a girl, Nana." Peach reminded her.

"I know, but look at her! She's such a pretty, shiny white. And she has that pink flower on top. If there were boy and girl Pikmin, she would be a girl."

That comment was rather bizarre to Samus, but it still made her smile.

Peach and Zelda laughed.

The four, or five, of them finished eating their meals.

"Alright, I'm afraid I have to go." Zelda said. "I have a match at 2, I should prepare."

"Good luck Zelda!" Nana said.

"Can we watch? Do you mind opening it to spectators?" Peach asked.

"I'm up against Marth and Yoshi, I don't think they'll mind opening it up." Zelda said, smiling.

"Great!" Peach cheered.

"Will you all be there?" Zelda asked. Nana and Peach said they would and the Pikmin hopped in its seat. Although, it's probably up to Olimar if it goes or not. Then Zelda turned to Samus.

Samus figured she would exercise or just rest in her down time. She didn't plan on watching any of the fights.

"Please?" Zelda asked.

That surprised Samus. She wasn't used to being asked to join in with people.

She didn't know what suddenly came over her, but Samus said, "Yes. I'll be there."

**Ok, some disclaimers. I use a lot of general grouping. **

**I know Earthbound and Mother 3 take place in different places, but for the sake of grouping Ness and Lucas together I called them Eaglelanders, since Earthbound takes place in Eagleland.**

**And while Lucario may be from Sinnoh, I put him with the group of Kantonians. Same with Ike and Marth with Akaneia.**

**Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed it so far!**


	2. Chapter 2

Samus found herself walking to the Transporting Room. She hadn't been invited to anything before; Zelda must've just been trying to be nice by including her. Not a big deal.

Something bothered her, though.

Olimar was afraid of her. She knew that the others didn't see her as very friendly and that on the battleground they were probably were afraid of her. But she was just in the Mansion, spending time with the others. She wasn't a threat. Why was he afraid?

And, as confusing as it may be, she was irritated that it bothered her. Why would she care? She didn't want to connect with anybody, so fear shouldn't matter to her. In fact, she probably_ should_ be feared by everybody.

But then why aren't Peach, Zelda, and Nana? So what if they were all girls, that didn't automatically give them a bond. Are the other guys afraid of her?

Before Samus could think about it any further, she had arrived at the TR. She saw Zelda, Yoshi, and Marth all standing on platforms behind the glass, ready to be sent to the arena. Samus walked to the Spectator Room. The Spectator Room was a black room with a big screen in front that displayed the battlefield the current round is happening in. There were four smaller screens surrounding the big screen. Each of those smaller screens would focus on one fighter, allowing you to keep on eye on your choice to win. There were three rows of 10 chairs each for people to sit down and watch.

She poked her head inside and looked around. She saw Link, Ike, and Toon Link sitting down together in the front row right in the center. Pit was there, sitting with Popo in the back row. Finally, she saw Peach and Nana sitting together in the middle row, slightly on the left side so they could see Zelda's screen better.

Peach's eyes widened and a smile spread over her face when she saw Samus. "Samus!"

All heads in the room turned to the doorway. Samus felt everyone's eyes on her. She walked in without saying a word and took the seat right by Peach.

"I'm so glad you came!" Peach said, beaming.

"I said I would after all." Samus said, uncomfortable that a big deal was being made of it.

"We weren't sure if you actually would though!" Nana spoke up.

"Shush!" Peach scolded Nana. "I knew you'd be here."

Samus simply nodded in acknowledgement. The guys in the room had all gone back to their conversations, letting Samus feel more at ease. She looked at the big screen and saw each fighter would have three knockouts before disqualification. The match wouldn't be determined by a time limit, so it could be over quickly or drag on.

"Zelda should do pretty well against these two." Peach commented.

"But Marth is pretty fast." Nana reminded her. "And he's a good swordsman."

"But Zelda can still use Sheik. That should give her the upper hand." Peach pointed out.

"Can't forget about Yoshi."

The three girls turned around and saw Pit smiling at them. "He may look silly, but he's a pretty good fighter." Samus, saw Popo standing beside the angel warrior.

"Popo!" Nana yelled at her brother. "Go away, this is girl time."

"Nonsense! You guys, sit down, join us!" Peach said, friendly as ever.

_Great_, Samus thought.

Popo sat beside his sister and Pit jumped over the chairs into their row and took the seat on the other side of Samus. Nana was noticeably displeased by her brother sitting right next to her. Pit had to shuffle around a bit to sit comfortably on his wings, but he seemed to have no problem sitting by Samus. She wondered if maybe only Olimar is afraid her?

"Hey Samus." Pit said, smiling at her.

"Hello."

"You left right after our match, but I wanted to say that you put up a good fight. And congratulations on winning."

"Thank you." She replied.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Popo asked, leaning forward to see her past Peach and Nana.

Samus raised an eyebrow. Peach, Nana, and Pit all glared at the blue ice climber. "No, no, not like that!" He said, waving his hands. "I don't mind that you're here, it's great! I just mean you usually don't watch other people's matches. Why are… What brought you down here?"

"She's here with us to watch Zelda fight." Peach said.

"Awesome!" Pit said.

"Do you fight her later?" Popo asked.

Nana punched her brother's arm. "No she doesn't! We're just here to support our friend!"

_Our friend…_ Samus thought.

"Why are you guys here?" Nana added.

"We just came down here to kill time." Pit said. "Hey Samus, you know, you should come down here more often! Some people are really funny to watch."

"Anyone I should look for?" She asked.

"Well…" Pit said, thinking. "For example, Diddy and R.O.B. Diddy is kind of confused by a machine, he isn't quite sure how to fight it." Samus had noticed something similar when fighting the chimp while in her power suit.

"A Pokemon battle of any kind." He went on. "Those often just end with the person with the better strategy winning."

"Anything with Mr. Game and Watch!" Nana spoke up. "That guy is just a lot of fun to watch, no matter what!"

"That's true!" Pit said, with a chuckle.

"What about you Pit?" Peach asked, with a smirk. "You against Olimar and his Pikmin."

Pit began laughing. "Those little guys are the worst to fight! They always grab onto my wings!"

The group went on talking for a bit, retelling fights they had seen and experienced. Samus sat quietly, listening in to all of their stories. Were these people her friends? Did they consider her a friend? If they did, would she have to as well? She didn't want to risk that again, for her sake and theirs.

"Oi, guys."

The group turned to the front row. Ike had turned to face them. "The fight's gonna start."

"Ooo, this is exciting!" Peach said, clapping.

"I think Zelda has a pretty good chance." Pit said to Samus.

"Yeah, she's strong." Samus agreed.

As the fight began, Samus thought back to what Nana said. Samus never had friends quite like this. These people were pretty much strangers to each other. They knew each other for a few weeks and are already act so close to each other? It didn't make much sense. Plus, they were all here to fight each other. Why purposely befriend someone you know you're going to fight? It doesn't make things easier.

And why did they want to be her friend? Weren't they afraid? She didn't want them to be scared, but she didn't want them to be friendly with her either. What did she want? Is something missing?

"Holy Palutena! Did you see that?" Pit yelled, tugging on Samus's arm.

Samus gave a small smile. "Yeah." She hadn't seen it, but she didn't want to be rude.

"Zelda is so good!" Peach said. Samus nodded.

What does it matter if they think she's mean? Isn't that what she's been telling herself this whole time, that it shouldn't matter what they think of her? She should just stop trying to think so deeply about it. It could be over by the end of the day anyway.

"Yoshi's out!" Pit cheered. "You got this Zel!"

"Cheering for Zelda, are you?" Samus said, amused.

"Yeah." Pit smiled. "I'm just here to pass time, but I'll cheer with you gals!"

"Thanks Pit!" Peach said, joining their conversation. "I'm sure Zelda would appreciate it, too!"

"Come on man!" Ike yelled, standing up in the front. "Take her down! She's just some princess!" Ike looked over at the Links. "Why aren't you guys backing me here?"

Toon Link shrugged. Link just grinned. "I really don't care who wins at this point." Ike just groaned and slumped back in his seat.

Yoshi walked into the room, panting heavily. He walked into the back row, to see the rest of the match.

Peach turned around and gave him a sympathetic smile. "You did great Yoshi." Yoshi gave her a tired, but thankful look.

_Peach can talk to anybody, can't she?_ Samus thought. Peach had spoken to her freely. And the same happened with Pit and Popo when they came over.

Zelda had two lives left, while Marth had only one. Zelda became saying something to herself. They couldn't hear her, but they could tell she was casting a magic spell. Suddenly, she became shrouded in light. The light lasted a few seconds, but soon faded and revealed Sheik.

"Oh boy, here we go!" Pit yelled. He was leaning forward with his hands curled into fists. Samus noted how into it he was getting.

Marth charged at Sheik and thrust his sword forward. Sheik bent over so her body went below the sword. She readied two needles and threw them at Marth's right hand, making him drop his weapon. Sheik wrapped one of her legs around the prince and used it to throw him to the ground. In one fluid motion, she then spun around, grabbed him by the collar, spun around, and threw him off of the platform. Marth's counter went to zero and a voice called the end of the brawl.

The 4 people around Samus began cheering as loud as they could. Both Peach and Pit stood up and began clapping as they cheered. The Ice Climbers jumped out of their seats and began jumping in unison. Seeing everyone celebrate made Samus herself smile.

Ike began shouting at the screen, while the Link's just laughed. "Our princess beats your prince!"

"Shut up!" Ike yelled.

Peach grabbed Samus's hands and began tugging to make her stand up. Samus got up and, when she saw how happy everybody was, actually began laughing herself.

"Let's go meet up with Zel!" Peach said. The group left the Spectator Room, followed by Yoshi and the Swordsmen.

Zelda and Marth both got out of the transporters. Zelda held out her hand and commended Marth on a good match. Marth was noticeably embarrassed, but nodded and shook her hand. The 5 began clapping for Zelda. The Princess of Hyrule walked over to them with a smile.

"Thanks for coming everyone." She said.

"Zelda, that was incredible!" Peach screeched, wrapping Zelda up in a hug.

"Phenomenal!" Pit said.

"Thank you." Zelda smiled. She turned her head to Samus.

"Good job, Princess." Samus said. "That was fun to watch."

"Thank you Samus."

"Is anyone busy right now?" Peach asked.

"My schedule is clear." Zelda replied.

"I'm free for the day." Pit said.

"We have a match in a half hour." Popo said.

"We'd like you guys to watch, but we're against Wolf…" Nana added. Samus knew Wolf was never one to talk to others, it wasn't surprising that he didn't like people watching him fight.

"That's too bad…" Peach said. "Samus?"

Samus was caught off guard again. She saw all eyes on her, eagerly awaiting her response. She did have some free time before her fight, but she wanted to spend it by herself.

"Oh, sorry. I have a brawl at 5. I'm going to warm up for it." She told them.

"Ok. Good luck, though!" Peach said, slightly saddened.

"Hey, maybe we'll come by to watch it!" Pit added.

Samus hesitated for a second then said, "Sure. Sounds good."

The group went into the hallway. Samus went one direction to her room, and the others went out to the lobby area.

She wouldn't have to warm up for the brawl. She was facing Luigi, Pikachu, and Fox, She knew all of their techniques well enough to hold her own in a fight. She just needed time to think things over.

She did want to be included. She just couldn't be.


	3. Chapter 3

_What the hell was that?_ Samus mentally yelled at herself. She stormed out of the Transporter Room and went right to her room.

_Those people got in my head! _Samus thought. She threw her helmet onto her bed. _Damn it! _She sat down beside where the helmet had landed, as her Power Suit disappeared off of her.

_I can't keep thinking about this. _She said, head in her hands. _I'm getting way too distracted. I couldn't even fight properly! 3rd place, what the hell is that! _

Samus shot up and went right to the bathroom to take a shower. As the water hit her face she began to cool off. _It doesn't matter. The others were just better than me that round. It's no one's fault but my own. I should actually warm up next time._

She got out of the shower._ This may have just been a wake up call. It may be fun spending time with the others, but it's not why you're here and you know that. What time is it?_

Samus left the bathroom and looked at the clock. _5:30. I should get something to eat._

She opened her closet. She saw her Zero Suits hanging there, but instead of grabbing one just closed the door. Sighing, she turned around and faced her room.

_Who am I kidding? I just want this day to be over._

Samus went to her dresser and pulled out her pajamas, a blue t-shirt and black sweatpants. She got dressed and closed her blinds. Then she turned the lights off and laid down in her bed. She began thinking about the days events, but quickly tried to forget them.

_No! Enough of this. This isn't helping you whatsoever. No point in lingering on it._

The confused warrior rolled over and closed her eyes.

* * *

The night seemed to drag on. At 2 o' clock, she got out of bed and walked out into the hall. She didn't want to keep pretending she could fall asleep, seeing as she woke up every hour or two. She told herself it was because she went to bed so early, but knew otherwise.

The Mansion was dead silent. Everybody had long since sealed themselves in their rooms and fallen asleep. The lights in the hallway were dimly lit, not necessarily to illuminate the hall, but just to show any late night roamers where the path was. In the lobby the lights were a bit brighter. Samus looked around the room, taking it all in.

The lobby was a simple entrance room. The doorway was actually made of glass, to show the outside. People could see two small side gardens near the door and simple sidewalk that lead all around the building. On the wall opposite of the door, there was a TV hanging up with three couches forming a semicircle around it. There was also a small table with a pot of flowers in the center of the room and a chandelier hanging just above that. Aside from this, however, the room was rather plain.

The two remaining walls had the beginnings of the hallways that branched around the Mansion. When entering the lobby from the front door, the right hallway to the right would take you to the Transfer Room, then a few fighter's rooms at the end of the wing. Going down the left hallway would take you to the rest of the fighter's rooms, then to the dining area.

After looking around, she went to the next hallway and went for the dining area. She opened the door for the dining room and had to shield her eyes, as this room was still fully lit. After letting her eyes adjust, she looked around, but didn't see anybody there. She cut to the kitchen.

Inside, she saw somebody had left out the peanut butter. She looked around for anything else someone had forgotten to put away or clean up, but saw nothing, so she assumed it had been out since dinner. She put the jar away and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge.

Samus walked back to the lobby, but stopped before she went into the second hallway. She glanced over at the door. Wondering if it actually gets locked at night, she walked over and tried to open it. To her surprise, it actually did open. Thinking about it, it made a little sense to her. No need to warrior about being attacked, the building is filled with skilled fighters. Plus, nobody has anything too personal here with them, all of that is left back at everybody's respective homes.

She took the opportunity of solitude to go outside and walk around the Mansion. On the side of her temporary home were various potted plants. There were windows into the other inhabitant's rooms, all of which had blinds covering them.

When she reached the back she saw the garden. It was a very large arrangement of various different flowers. The garden had a sidewalk going around it in a circle shape. The sidewalk cut through the circle in a vertical line and a horizontal line, leaving an off-center cross shape in the middle that divided it into 4 sections. There were torches all around it for light. At the center of the cross, where the two line met in a square, the pavement turned to marble. There were 4 benches, one at each corner of the square.

To top it off, the backyard went downhill a few levels, taking a flight of stairs with about 10 steps to reach the bottom, so the garden could have its full shape be seen from above. Samus had never seen the garden at night, and had never honestly paid much attention to it during the day, but took the time to admire the peaceful scene in front of her.

She walked down the stairs to go to the garden. She did a lap around the outer circle, admiring the entire flora there. She took the vertical path down to the marble square and took a seat at one of the benches. She closed her eyes and let herself absorb the serenity of the night.

She doesn't get many nights like this, most are either spent at a space station lab or in her own starship. And those are only the nights that she's not hunting on a planet. She had learned to appreciate moments like this when they presented themselves.

"Samus?"

Samus opened her eyes and looked down the path that came from the Mansion. She saw Pit and the Pokemon Trainer coming towards her. The Pokemon Trainer was in his pajamas, but without his hat. His eyes seemed very sleepy. Pit seemed to be wearing the same white robe, but he probably had numerous robes that all looked similar. Pit was moving slower than usual, but seemed to be rather attentive, at least compared to his companion.

When they reached the square, Pit asked, "What are you doing at here at 2 in the morning?"

Samus opened up her water bottle. "I could ask the same of you two." She took a small drink from it.

"We saw a shadow pass by our windows." The Pokemon Trainer said, yawning afterwards

"Yeah, we each came out of our rooms at the same time and decided we would come out to see what it was." Pit explained.

"I'm sorry about that. It was just me." Samus told them. The two walked over to the bench and sat on either side of her.

"Nothing to worry about." Pit said. "We were just curious. So why are you out here?"

"I couldn't sleep." She said.

"So you came outside?" The Pokemon Trainer asked.

"I walked around the Mansion a little first." She said, staring at the ground.

There was a few seconds of silence, then the Pokemon Trainer said, "I know it's the name, but is this place actually a mansion? Sure, it's huge, but it's only one story. Is that still a mansion?"

Pit laughed. "Red, nobody but you has ever questioned that." The sleepy teenager just shrugged.

Samus looked at him. "Red?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry, I just didn't know that was your name. I always thought you were just the Pokemon trainer." Samus said, slightly embarrassed.

Red laughed. "Most people thought the same thing when I first came here. It doesn't help it's my name for fighting. But yeah, my real name's Red."

"We've been here for a few weeks already and you didn't know his name?" Pit asked, nudging Samus's arm.

"I never really paid much attention to the other people here with me." She said, somewhat irritated.

Pit leaned forward. "Can I ask why?"

Samus hesitated a second, then looked at him. "Why what?"

Pit sat back up. "Why didn't you want anything to do with us?"

"Yeah, everybody just assumed you were standoffish." Red said, yawning again. Pit reached his hand past Samus and smacked Red on the back of his head.

"I told myself there was no point." Samus said, ignoring their antics.

"No point to interacting with us?" Pit asked.

"Right." Samus told them. "We were here to fight each other. When we were told to stop fighting, we would leave. The only time we would see each other was to fight again."

"I guess that makes sense." Red said, looking up to the stars.

There was a pause, but eventually Pit said, "But you changed your mind?"

Samus turned her head. "What makes you think that?"

Pit got up and stretched a little. He turned to face the bench-dwellers. "You said we _were_ here to fight each other. There _was_ no point in talking to us. Do you think differently now?"

"Hey, yeah." Red spoke up. "And you actually ate with the rest of us in the dining area yesterday."

"Right. And you watched a match with a few of us." Pit added.

"This isn't anything against the rest of you." Samus said, looking at her water bottle. "I don't have any problems with the any of you."

"You just saw us as opponents you would have to fight?" Pit asked, slowly rocking back on his heels.

"I guess." Samus said, then shook her head. "No, that's not quite it."

"Then what is it?" Red asked.

Samus looked up. The sky had a lot of specks of light penetrating its darkness. The moon shined down, its light seeming to perfectly envelope the garden they were in.

"It was necessary for me."

"You _needed_ to stay away from us?" Red asked.

"For my own sake, yes." Samus answered.

"Why is that?" Pit asked.

Samus stood up and stretched. She took another drink from her water bottle. "I'm feeling sleepy again. I'm going back." She began walking the path to the Mansion. Then she stopped and turned around. "But thank you both for the company. Goodnight." She smiled at them, then turned back to the path.

"We're here to talk if you need it!" Pit called out.

"Not necessarily in the garden, though. Just around the Mansion." Red clarified.

"Shut up." Pit said. "Goodnight Samus."

"Night." Red said.

Samus began walking the path back to the front of building. This worried her. It worried her in that she was so comfortable talking back there. Today, or rather yesterday, seemed to be a sort of catalyst. Once she was shown some friendliness, she seems to have just opened up to the idea.

Samus opened the front door and went down the hallway. For their sake, she shouldn't pursue it. She should simply shut the door on everyone. But that's not what she wants. Something's been missing in her.

And she's almost found it again.

* * *

Pit and Red stayed out for another 15 minutes or so.

"How much do you know about Samus?" Red asked, twisting his neck for a crack.

"Not much. I don't know where's she's from or anything. I just know she's a space bounty hunter." Pit said, scratching his head. "Do you know anything about her?"

Red shook his head. "She didn't even know my name, how would I know anything about her? I just figured you might know more, since you were able to spend time with her earlier."

"Unfortunately, no." Pit sighed. "Peach is the one who might know more. Even in the group, Samus always tried to stay by Peach."

"And she sat by Samus at lunch." Red pointed out.

"Exactly." Pit nodded. "In all honesty, though, I don't think we'll be able to get Samus to open up to us any time soon."

"You like her, don't you?" Red said, grinning at Pit.

"Romantically? Not quite. She's pretty, yeah, but I'd rather just get to know her." Pit explained.

"So then what do you think of her?" Red asked the angel.

Pit paused for a bit, looking up at the sky. "She's a strong fighter."

"I don't mean during a brawl, just as a person." Red elaborated.

"That's what I meant too." Pit said.

"Who or what is she fighting then?" Red asked, standing up and stretching.

Pit sighed and nodded his head towards the sidewalk, motioning for the Pokemon trainer to follow him.

"She's fighting herself."

**The garden is the shape of the Smash Bros logo, in case that wasn't coming across very clearly.**

**Oh! And just so you all know, the Power Suit in this story isn't the same as most of the games. In here, her helmet is a something she has to take off her head herself, but the rest of the suit can be dematerialized, like in Other M.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, I didn't want to say anything in the beginning, out of fear of jinxing it, but I think I can now. In reference to what sippurp123 said about quick updates: that should be pretty consistent! My method of writing this story, by way of scheduling, is a system I thought I could work with, and that seems to be the case!**

**So I should be able to keep updating every other day!**

**And hey, thanks for reviewing you guys!**

Samus actually got some sleep after that. She woke up at 8, feeling better. She got up, showered, threw on a Zero Suit, and went to the the Transfer Room to see if she would be fighting at any point in the day.

She only had one match at 9, the beginning of the day's brawls. She figured she would just use her morning to try to warm up for the fight. She walked to the computer and put in the Training Room with a Sandbag. She put it on stand by, walked to the transporters and sent herself to the room.

She did some basic stretching, the attacked the Sandbag with a few acrobatic combos. She decided to stop after only 20 minutes, since she would spend most of the fight in her Power Suit, as opposed to just her Zero Suit.

She entered the voice command for leaving the room. Upon reappearing in the transporter, she saw a certain princess dressed in pink.

"Hi Samus." Peach said, worry in her eyes.

"Hello Princess." Samus greeted.

"Is everything ok?" Peach asked. "You had your brawl yesterday, then nobody saw you at all after. Luigi said you were really upset and practically ran to your room."

"Everything's fine. No need to worry." Samus said, walking to the door, but Peach got in her way.

"I'm going to anyway." She said. "Does winning a fight really mean that much to you?"

"Please move." Samus said, eager to get away from the conversation.

"No." Peach said, not budging.

Samus was slightly taken aback. Nobody ever tried so hard to get her to say something. It seemed like Peach wasn't afraid of her at all.

"Princess, I don't wa-"

"Peach."

Samus stared at her, confused. "What?"

"I want you to call me Peach." She said, arms folded.

Samus shook her head. "You know I don't feel comfortable with that."

"I don't care."

Samus looked at the princess with disbelief. Peach wasn't budging. "Why is it so important what I call you?"

"Because friends don't have fancy titles for each other." Peach said, her stare locked in place.

Samus folded her arms in annoyance. "You're really forcing this you know."

"No I'm not. You're just pushing back with everything you've got. But for whatever reason it's becoming harder and harder for you to fight."

"That's ridiculous and completely untrue." Samus shook her head.

"Then why are you still here?" Peach asked. "Samus, you're much stronger than me. If you wanted to leave, you would have."

Samus didn't know what to say.

"I like talking to you. I want you to feel the same." Peach said.

"Why?" Samus asked, still trying to maintain her tough exterior.

"Because we're friends."

"How can you even say that?" Samus said, voice rising. "We spent one day, no, one _half _of a day, talking and you think we're friends? For all you know, we don't have anything in common. Why would you call me your friend?"

"Because that's not what friendship is." Peach said, calm as ever. "Friendship isn't about having something in common or spending a lot of time with each other. It's about _enjoying_ spending your time with another person. Even if you just sit and relax in silence, as long as you like being with that person, you're friends." Peach looked directly into Samus' eyes. "I enjoyed spending time with you and the others yesterday. I know you did too."

"That's insane. How could you know that?"

"Because when you had the chance to escape, you didn't take it." Peach shot.

"What? When?"

"After lunch you could've left, never spoken to any of us again. We wouldn't have pressed it. But you came back to watch Zelda's fight. I know you had fun yesterday. You aren't someone to stay somewhere that's making you uncomfortable. Am I wrong?"

"Well, no, you're not exactly wrong."

"Then why are you still in this room?" Peach asked. "You aren't uncomfortable and you aren't fighting back very strongly."

Samus didn't know what to say. For the cheery, bubbly princess she always seems to be, Peach knows what to say to get what she wants. She's rather confusing. Then again, Peach was probably thinking the same about her.

"Ok." Samus gave in. "Ok, you're right."

"I'm right?" Peach asked, a small smile starting to show.

"I did enjoy spending time with all of you."

Peach's smile became full. "I'm happy to hear it! Would you care to again, today?"

"I have a brawl in a bit, at 9." Samus told her.

"After! We can have breakfast together! I don't have any matches until the afternoon." She said.

Samus stared at her for a few seconds, then a small laugh escaped her lips. "Sure. Breakfast sounds nice."

"Great! I'll gather the girls!" Peach said, turning around. Then she stopped. "Do you think we should get anybody else?"

Samus thought for a second. "How about Pit?" She suggested.

"Great! He's a total sweetie!" That was the Peach that Samus knew. "See? You're making plans with your friends! It's not that bad. Let's go, I'll walk to your room with you." Peach waved her arm for Samus to follow her.

Samus stood still for a moment, the impact of the conversation really hitting her. How had Peach done that? In a mere conversation the princess had figured her out. Samus eventually picked up her feet and walked with Peach.

"So do you want to talk about your brawl yesterday?" Peach asked.

Samus smiled. "You couldn't figure that out?"

Peach laughed. "It's hard enough figuring _you _out!"

Samus went back to a serious face. "But no, I really don't."

Peach quieted down after hearing her tone. "Ok."

The two had reached Samus' room. Samus opened her door. "I'll see you at breakfast, Peach."

Peach smiled at that. "See you then! And just so you know, I'm here to talk if you need it!" She gave a small wave, and then walked back down the hallway.

Samus closed her door and walked to her bed. _Here to talk if you need it._ Pit and Red had said the same thing last night. Are these people just really friendly, or do they really consider her a friend?

Adam said the same thing back in Federation training.

Samus felt strong. She missed this. The feeling of other people fighting for her. The feelings of belonging and closeness. She wouldn't let herself succumb to it yet. But she liked that it was there.

Samus stood up and focused her energy on materializing her Power Suit. With her armor on, she walked to her dresser and grabbed her helmet. She made her way for the Transporter Room.

* * *

Samus stepped out of the shower. She felt refreshed, in more ways than one. She had won her brawl, and a part of her was really looking forward to breakfast. She put on her Zero Suit and as she was closing her closet, a knock came at the door. Samus opened it and saw Peach and Nana smiling at her.

"Hi Samus!" Nana said.

"Hey there." Samus said with a small smile.

"Ready for breakfast?" Peach asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Samus said, looking back into her room for a second.

Peach grabbed Samus' arm and pulled her out into the hall. "Great! Let's go!"

The dining room wasn't as busy as it had been during lunch. Captain Falcon was eating with Fox and Falco, occasionally getting the two to laugh. Lucario and Snake were eating at a table, probably because neither expected the other to make conversation.

At their table, Samus saw Zelda and Link talking. The three went over and sat down with them.

"Hi Samus." Zelda greeted with a warm smile.

"Hello Princess." Samus said.

"Hey Sam." Link said, nodding. Samus nodded in response.

Peach began laughing. "I never thought of you with that name!"

Samus shrugged. Link laughed. "Hope that's ok. Speaking of names, what's up with her calling you Princess, Zel?"

"Shut up." Zelda said, with a smirk. "She wants to call me that, nothing wrong with it."

Samus was a bit surprised. This was a different side of Zelda, not the regal woman she knew. She was much more casual with Link it seemed. It made Samus smile, seeing a real person behind the crown.

"Of course your majesty." Link said, grinning.

Zelda just shook her head. "You're a dork."

Link kept smiling at her. "Yeah, that sounds like me."

Peach laughed at the two. "You guys are so cute!"

Nana smiled. "Hey, how about we all go get food?"

After getting their meals, the 5 returned to the table. Peach was talking to Samus and Nana, while Link was telling Zelda about a conversation he had with Ike, after Zelda's brawl yesterday.

"Pit had a brawl at 10, so he had an early breakfast." Peach told them.

"That's too bad…" Nana said, visibly sad that the angel wouldn't be joining them.

Samus took a sip of her orange juice. "There's always next time."

The two others looked at her with smiles and bright eyes. Nana because she might get to talk to Pit, Peach because Samus said there would be a next time.

They turned to Link and Zelda's conversation. "He said he wasn't happy that Marth lost. But, he conceded that you deserved to win, seeing how well you fought."

"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or not." Zelda replied.

"That doesn't really sound like Ike." Samus commented.

Peach nodded. "Yeah, he seemed really upset after the fight."

Link shrugged and took a bite of his pancakes. "I guess some people are different when they're alone."

"Sounds like it." Nana said.

Samus thought about what Link had said. There was a lot of truth to that. Peach was very different from what Samus assumed her to be. There was a very serious side that came out. Zelda too, she changed when Link came over. By herself, she held herself very well. When he came, she became a teenage girl. Pit was much more serious last night when they had spoken.

"I guess you're right." Samus said.

"That's not to say one side is more real than the other." Link said, then took a drink of his milk. He put the empty glass on the table. "Just that a person can be more than meets the eye. Zel, are you going to eat your bacon?"

Link had said it so casually, and nobody else seemed to think much of it, but it got Samus' head spinning. Was she the same? Did people think she was more than meets the eye? Even the other people she knew…

"Paws off, hero." Zelda said, swatting his hand away.

"Fine. Samus?" Link said.

His voice got Samus out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Can I have your bacon?" He asked again.

"Quit poaching people's food!" Nana yelled at him.

"No, it's ok, here you go." Samus reassured.

"Score!" Link said, devouring the three strips. He stood up and did a little stretching. "Anyway, I have to go now. Marth wants to have a little sword fight to see where he needs improvement. So we'll be hogging the back yard."

"Bye Link!" Peach and Nana said in unison. Samus' mouth was full, so she gave a small wave.

"See you guys." Link said, with a smile. He bent over and gave Zelda a kiss on the head. Zelda smiled up at him, then he left.

"You guys are very sweet." Peach said, smiling at Zelda.

"Thank you." Zelda said, blushing slightly.

"What do you guys think of that?" Samus blurted out, suddenly. The three others looked at her confused.

"Think about what?" Nana asked.

"A person being more than meets the eye." She clarified.

The other three stopped to think for a moment.

"It makes sense." Peach said.

"Yeah, nobody is exactly the same as you think they are when you first met them." Nana added.

"I agree." Zelda said. Samus noticed how much more formal she was acting. "People don't necessarily change all the time. You just see more sides to them. Why do you ask?"

"Yeah, what do you think about it?" Nana asked.

"I was thinking the same thing." Samus told them. The people she met here were different than what she assumed, and she was probably different from what they assumed of her. When Peach got Samus to talk more, she felt stronger. She felt happy. Like something that had been missing had been brought back.

Maybe she could show more of herself to them.

**In future chapters I'll be referring to Metroid mythology a bit, but I like to think that I'll be general enough that you can understand it without playing any Metroid games.**


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter is more of a stepping-stone than something that stands on its own.**

Samus took a deep breath, trying to take in all of the cool night air. She looked around the garden, seeing the various colors stand out in the torchlight. It was possible to see the extent of the flowers from any bench that was chosen. She looked up at the sky to see the stars, a sight that she could appreciate when she wasn't so close to them. Her ship gave a nice view, but there's something different when you see it in the stillness of night, as opposed to the depth of space.

The air was refreshing, not too cold and not too windy. She came out in her Zero Suit this time, instead of her pajamas. She stood up from the bench and decided to walk around the garden. She took the vertical path to the top of the circle and started from there. As she looked at each of the plants, she found herself thinking back to the events of the day.

* * *

"It looks so nice out today…" Peach said, glancing out the dining room window.

"Want to go outside?" Nana said eagerly.

"It's rather sunny out, perhaps we could go to the garden." Zelda suggested.

"That sounds like fun!" Peach said. "Do you gals want to go right now?"

"Yeah!" Nana said. Zelda nodded with a smile.

The three turned to Samus. Samus gave a small smile. "Sure, sounds good."

The four put all of their dishes back in the kitchen and walked to the lobby. Peach and Nana were in front, while Zelda and Samus were in back.

"Hey Princess." Samus said. Zelda turned to Samus. "Are you and Link dating?"

Zelda smiled. "Well, we haven't gone on any dates, but yes, we're together." Samus nodded in understanding. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that you guys seem to bring out something in each other."

Zelda tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"You two act like kids around each other. From what I can tell, Link is usually rather focused. And you're more…"

"Royal?" Zelda said, laughing slightly.

Samus laughed too. "Sure, that works. But together, you two seem to become much more light hearted."

Zelda thought for a second, then nodded. "It's like he said. People can be more than meets the eye."

"That's actually why I brought it up. Is there a reason you two bring out that side of each other?" Samus asked, as the group left the Mansion and started for the backyard.

"See…" Zelda began. "Link and I come from the kingdom of Hyrule. It's usually a very peaceful place, yet still full of life. Last year, a monster attacked the kingdom, shrouding it in an endless twilight. The monster, his name was Zant, wanted to rule the world by covering it in the essence of his homeland. The whole kingdom was terrified and confused. And Zant had me overpowered, I couldn't do anything for my people."

Samus listened intently, taking in every word the Princess said.

"Then Link came." Zelda's eyes lit up as she continued. "Chosen by our Goddesses, he saved Hyrule. He had some help along the way, and the strength from all of those people in addition to his own, he was able to defeat Zant and the greater evil, Ganondorf."

"I see. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that." Samus said, looking down at the sidewalk. "It must've been incredibly difficult."

"It was." Zelda nodded. "And for the longest time, people had a hard time even feeling remotely happy."

"So where do you guys want to go?" Peach asked.

Samus and Zelda had been distracted by their conversation and hadn't realized they'd arrived at the backyard.

"Let's go to the garden!" Nana said.

"Sure!" Peach agreed. "Have either of you ever been there?"

Zelda shook her head.

"Yeah, I have once." Samus said.

"Then let's go!" Peach said.

Nana ran off ahead, and Peach tried to catch up, but her dress made running difficult. Zelda and Samus slowly tailed them.

"So, what changed?" Samus asked.

"Hmm?" Zelda looked at Samus. "Oh, yes. It was Link. He saw how devastated everybody was, and wanted to lift everyone's spirits, at least for a little while. So he began acting all goofy." The princess smiled at the memory.

"Goofy how?" Samus said, smirking at the princess' face.

"He would do things like steal a dog's bone, then sprint through the market as the dog chased him. Or he would see me in the plaza, then run straight through the fountain in the center to reach me. Just silly things that made the people around it laugh. He quickly got me doing the same stuff."

Samus smiled. "Is that so?"

Zelda laughed. "Not quite as eccentric as what he was doing. But I did do some magic to liven things up. Fireworks and the such."

"Fascinating." Samus said, thinking about her story.

"And that's how our relationship grew. No matter how rough things got, seeing each other made us remember those moments, and things seemed… Well, less heavy." Zelda told her. "It's nice having someone who can do that, without even trying."

"That's incredible." Samus said. The group had arrived at the garden. Nana had already gone to the marble square and was looking at a group of flowers. Peach had waited for the other two to catch up.

"I think Nana's already found something." Peach said, smiling at the Ice Climber. "Shall we join her?"

Samus and Zelda nodded. As the three walked to the square, Samus noticed a lot of people were outside today. She saw Red with all three of his Pokemon out. They ran around with Pikachu in the field adjacent to the garden. Meta Knight was on the roof, in some sort of meditative state. Mario and Luigi had brought out a grill and were making what seemed to be hamburgers. Wario, Kirby, and King Dedede were standing at a distance, staring at the food, waiting for the moment they could have some. Olimar was in the garden, walking around with his Pikmin, being mindful of the plants.

"Hey look!" Peach said, pointing to Nana. One of Olimar's white Pikmin had run over and was looking at the flowers with Nana. "I wonder if it's the same one who ate with us yesterday!"

"Could be." Zelda smiled.

"Let's find out!" Peach said, picking up her pace for the square.

"So Samus.." Zelda began, stopping her from continuing. "What's your story?"

Samus looked away, towards Red and his Pokemon. She didn't want to talk about it. "Well…"

"Samus! Zelda! It _is_ her!" Peach said, waving for them to come over.

"Another time, then. No big deal." Zelda said, trying to reassure Samus.

Zelda began walking to Peach and Nana. Samus sighed in relief, feeling like she had dodged a bullet. Zelda had said a lot, does that mean she should've done the same? Zelda considered her a friend, that much Samus knew. Why else would she have been so open about herself?

Samus walked over to the others, all of whom were greeting the Pikmin. They were all crouched over, trying to get close to her, so Samus just stood in back. She saw Olimar walk over to them, probably to retrieve his Pikmin. He seemed to pick up his pace as he was passing by Samus.

_Is he still afraid of me?_ Samus thought to herself.

"Excuse me." He said, talking to the other three. "I need to take this one back. Too much exposure to a white Pikmin is bad for plant life."

"Because they're poison?" Nana asked. Olimar nodded.

"Ok, if it's for the best…" Peach said, sad to see the little white creature leave.

"Sorry. Bye guys." He said, running off with his group of Pikmin, the white one in hand.

They all said bye. Even has he passed by Samus, she said her goodbye, but that just seemed to make him run faster. That irritated her.

"Are you ok Samus?" Peach asked. "You seem upset."

Samus sighed. "It's Olimar. I think he's afraid of me, and I don't know why."

"Really? You can't tell why?" Nana asked.

"Nana! That's very rude!" Peach yelled. Nana sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

Samus looked at the marble square, in thought. "Sure, I know I'm rough in a match. But out here, I try to be calm."

"Yeah, but Samus, you're still kind of scary." Nana said. Peach bopped her on the head. "Sorry, not scary. Intimidating."

"That's not better!" Peach scolded.

Samus shook her head. "No, I kind of knew that already."

"It's just that you don't say very much. And you're, like, _reeeaaally _tall!" Nana said, jumping with the last comment.

Samus thought about what she had said, knowing she was right with all of it. "I guess you're right." She said.

"He just needs to get to know you!" Peach said, trying to raise Samus' spirits.

"Exactly." Zelda agreed. "You're a very easy person to talk to, once you get the opportunity." She smiled at Samus. The blonde bounty hunter smiled back.

"Samus, where are you from?" Nana asked.

Samus looked down at her, eyebrows raised. "What?"

Nana shrugged. "It's just that we don't know much about you. We know you fight aliens, but that's about it."

Um…" Samus mumbled, as all three girls were looking at her. They were all curious about her. "I was born on a planet called K-2L, but I haven't had an actual home for most of my life. I sort of live in my ship."

"Cool!" Nana said. She turned to Peach and Zelda. "See? Now we know our friend even better!"

_Friend._ Samus thought. Even an innocent little girl calls her a friend, no strings attached.

"Would you care to go on Samus?" Zelda asked.

* * *

Samus finished her lap around the garden. She would've kept thinking, but a noise brought her back to reality. She instinctively reached for her Paralyzer, but she hadn't brought it with. She looked around the garden, but didn't see anything. She skimmed over the field, but to no avail.

Suddenly, in the patch of flowers near where she was standing a few flowers began to droop. She saw them start falling in a circular shape, all centered around a pink flower with a white stem. Samus thought the flower looked familiar, so she walked towards it to inspect it. The flower began moving around on its own, making Samus flinch. She heard a familiar high-pitched noise coming from the plant.

Samus smiled to herself and shook her head. She grabbed the plants stem and pulled it out of the ground, pulling up a white Pikmin. She walked to a bench in the square and placed the Pikmin beside her.

"Does your captain know you're out here?" She asked, amused. The little Pikmin shook its head. Samus leaned back and sighed.

"You must really like it out here." She said. The Pikmin tried to mimic her pose by sitting beside her. "I do too. Especially at night, it's very quiet."

The two sat there in silence for a little bit. The Pikmin would occasionally tilt its head from side to side, as if trying to see things from every possible angle.

"Did you have fun today?" She asked. The Pikmin nodded its head vigorously. "Me too."

* * *

"Well, I have a brawl in a bit, so I'll see you guys! Feel free to watch if you'd like!" Peach said, heading back towards the mansion.

"Good luck!" Nana said. Zelda and Samus gave a smile and a wave.

"Hey Samus." Zelda said. "Don't feel any sort of pressure with us. If you ever want to talk, we'll be here to listen, we won't try to squeeze anything out of you."

Samus smiled. "Thanks Princess."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about asking those questions, Samus…" Nana said, hanging her head.

"It's ok." Samus told her. "Don't worry about it."

"Ok!" Nana said with lifted spirits.

"Really though. We're friends. We'll learn more about each other slowly." Zelda said.

That thought probably should've made her uneasy, but it actually comforted Samus a bit. She had new friends with her. People that wanted to talk to her, and who she could talk to. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Yeah." Samus smiled. "That sounds great."

* * *

As the night went on, the breeze became a bit colder. The little Pikmin began to shiver and Samus began getting tired.

"What do you say?" Samus asked. "Time to go in?" The Pikmin nodded it's head, still shivering. Samus held her hand open and the Pikmin jumped on. Since she had her Zero Suit on, she was protected from the Pikmin's natural poison, much like Olimar and his spacesuit.

A feeling of freedom swept over Samus. She hadn't had a close friend since Adam died, and feeling close to people was something she missed. She had friends who are always willing to listen, even if she wasn't in the mood to talk.

Samus looked down at the Pikmin in her hand. It looked back with its big pink eyes. She smiled at it. "We're friends too, right?" The Pikmin gave a little jump and nod.

She put the Pikmin on Olimar's window. The window was still open from when the Pikmin escaped. It seemed to have trouble closing it though, so Samus helped.

That night Samus went to bed feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Naturally, after I make the declaration of being able to post chapters every other day, I can't keep that up. My apologies for that. Here's a longer-than-usual, feel good chapter. Hopefully it slightly makes up for it.**

Samus woke up to a knocking on her door. She groggily got up and opened it to find Peach.

With a bright smile Peach said, "Good Morning Samus!"

Samus wiped her eyes. "Good Morning Peach."

"Would you like some breakfast?"

"Um… Sure. What time is it?"

"7!" Peach said, smile never breaking.

"It's a bit early." Samus smiled. "But sure, breakfast sounds great."

"Great!" Peach clasped her hands together. "I made something special! And let's get the others. I'm trying to get our little group together for it!"

"I have to get dressed, be out in a minute." Samus said.

"I'll be here!" Peach said with a laugh.

Samus went to her closet to grab a Zero Suit. She smiled at the thought of being part of a little group. The four girls are friends, that's for sure. Link and Popo join in sometimes. Even though they only do so because of Zelda and Nana, Samus considered them friends. Pit and Red are also two people she considered friends.

If they're a group, she should tell them about herself, that's what friends do. But there's still a risk. For everyone.

Samus went to the door. Peach was there, smiling as brightly as ever.

"Shall we?" The Princess asked.

Samus smiled. "Sure."

The two went to Zelda's room first, who happily joined them. Then they went to the room of the Ice Climbers and got Nana. The Pink Climber was less than thrilled to be up that early, but when she saw the rest were there, she wanted to join in.

"Does your brother want to come with?" Peach asked.

"No." Nana shook her head. "He prefers to sleep in."

"Shall we go to the dining room?" Zelda suggested.

"Let's grab a few more people first." Peach said. "Zelda, you and I will go get Link. Samus, Nana, go get Pit."

"Yay!" Nana jumped. "Pit's going to come too?"

Peach smiled at the little girl. "Only if you ask him!"

"Let's go Samus!" Nana said, grabbing Samus's hands.

"Ok, su-!" Samus got cut off but Nana's abrupt yank as she led them down the hall. Nana ran down the hall, which meant Samus had to do a mere jog.

"Which room is Pit's again?" Samus asked.

"It's that one!" Nana pointed. "Then Snake, then Marth, and then Red."

Samus thought for a second. "Hey, how about you get Pit, I'll ask Red if he wants to come."

"Red?" Nana asked, head tilted. "You want to ask him?"

Samus nodded "Yeah, sure. He's a nice guy. And he and Pit are friends."

"Ok! Go ask him!" Nana agreed, then ran to Pit's room.

Samus walked over to Red's room and knocked. She waited a few moments, then knocked again. She heard a shuffling from the other side of the door, then a sleepy eyed Red opened the door. He was still in his pajamas, but had his hat on.

"Hello Red." Samus greeted.

Red yawned then said, "Hey Samus. Look, it's half past early. Is there something you need?"

"A group of us are getting together for breakfast. Care to join?"

There was a moment of silence and blank staring, but eventually Red said, "Yeah, sure. Just let me throw on my jacket and pants."

"Great." Samus said. She looked to the other side of the hall and saw Nana yanking Pit out of his room. She dragged him to the adjacent hallway, barely giving him time to lace up his sandals. As they rounded the corner, Pit quickly gave Samus a small smile and a shrug. Samus smiled back.

Red opened his door. "Ok, I'm ready." The two began walking to the dining room. "A group breakfast, right? I'm guessing Peach is in charge of this?"

"Nailed it." Samus said. She smirked at the Pokemon trainer. "Half past early?"

Red shrugged. "I didn't check my clock. I only knew I was tired, so it seemed like an appropriate phrase."

"Right." Samus shook her head.

Peach, Zelda, Link, Nana, and Pit were all waiting in the lobby.

"I asked Red if he wanted to come with." Samus told them.

Peach smiled. "Great! The more the merrier!"

The group walked to the dining room. There was nobody eating, but there was a light coming from the kitchen.

Peach stepped in front of everyone and faced them. "Ok everyone. I have a bit of a surprise. Since we've all gotten close since we came here, I wanted to do something nice for my friends!"

She led them to the kitchen and there, spread out on the counter, was an array of breakfast foods. Pancakes, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, orange juice, Poffins, and some dishes Samus didn't even recognize.

"Wow!" Nana exclaimed.

"Holy Palutena, Peach, did you do this by yourself?" Pit asked.

"I had a little bit of help." Peach said, gesturing towards the sink.

Sitting there, washing up a frying pan, was Pikachu. He sat on the counter and leaned into the sink to scrub it. He turned to everyone and gave a "Pika!"

Peach smiled. "When I first came in here to start I saw him eating out of the peanut butter jar. I guess I startled him, he must've been doing it in secret. I think he felt guilty, so he began washing the dishes after I used them!"

Zelda smiled. "How cute!"

Red scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, but I'll avoid the peanut butter for the time being."

Peach clapped her hands together. "Well, you guys dig in! If anyone else comes tell them they can have whatever they'd like! I just wanted you guys to have first pick." She winked at the group, then went to the sink and helped Pikachu with the dishes. "Here, the frying pan can be a bit tricky to scrub."

Link leaned over to Samus. "I think i've been hit with that pan." Samus smiled at the comment.

Everybody began crowding around the counter. They all grabbed plates and started piling as much as they could. Red let out his 3 Pokemon and grabbed them a plate full of Poffins. The group went out into the dining room when Nana said, "Hey, why don't we push two of the tables together? So we can all sit together!"

"They're round." Link pointed out.

"Actually…" Red said. He put his plate down on a table and walked to a separate table. He pulled off the tablecloth. "See? The table is three separate parts. A rectangular middle piece, with two rounded wings on the ends. That why they're more oval shaped than a perfect circular."

"So if we took out the middle piece of some of the other tables, we could elongate one table so we can all sit together!" Pit said.

"We'll have to take one of the legs from another table too." Samus said. "If it gets too long, we'll need something to support the middle."

"Good call." Link said. The group quickly got to work. The too the middle sections of 3 other tables and threw them onto one. The table became big enough to seat 10 people, 11 if they squished the chairs together. They used three tablecloths to cover the entire thing.

"Hey Red." Samus said getting his attention. "How did you know about the tables?"

Red smiled and nodded towards his Squirtle. "The little guy likes to sit underneath the tables. I just happened to notice it."

Samus smiled and pulled up a chair. The others followed suit, all sitting down and starting to eat their breakfasts. Peach walked out of the kitchen carrying two plates, one of food for her, the other of Poffins for Pikachu.

"Oh, what a great idea!" Peach said when she saw the table. She took a seat by Samus, while Pikachu just sat in the middle of the table with his plate.

Samus looked around the table. Each of these people considered her a friend. And she felt the same about them. Just admitting that to herself gave her an incredible warm and fulfilling feeling.

"Samus?" Peach asked.

Samus snapped out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Peach giggled. "I asked how everything tasted."

"Oh, it's very good." She replied. "You're a very good cook, Peach."

"Thank you!"

"She's right Peach, this is fantastic!" Link said. The rest of the table agreed.

"Thank you everyone!" The Princess said, beaming.

"Hey, what's all this here?"

Everyone turned around and saw Ike and Marth walking in.

"A big breakfast!" Nana said.

"Grab a plate and join us!" Zelda said.

Ike was already walking towards the kitchen. "Don't have to tell me twice."

Soon more people began coming into the dining room. Ike and Marth took up two chairs at the big table, and eventually Popo came in and took the last chair. The others would filter in and just sit at some of the other tables. Everybody was having a nice time, talking, laughing, and eating. Samus smiled to herself as she took in the general feeling of happiness. She made note of what one gesture can do for so many people. Everybody had a big smile on as they talked to their friends. As she scanned over the all of the faces, she ended up making eye contact with Pikachu. The little mouse made a smile, which Samus returned.

Then she motioned for him to come over. He did so, and Samus said, "You know, the other night I came out here and found the peanut butter out and the kitchen lights on." Pikachu suddenly looked shocked, followed by guilty. Samus smiled at him. "You have midnight snacks often, don't you?"

Pikachu slowly nodded, looking down. Samus laughed. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"Pikachu!" The electric mouse exclaimed, thankfully.

* * *

The meal went on for about an hour, and soon people went to check the brawling schedules.

"This was a lot of fun Peach!" Nana said.

"Yeah, it was a great idea!" Pit agreed.

"And that food! Damn!" Ike said, rubbing his stomach. "My compliments to the chef."

Peach smiled. "Thanks everyone!"

"Guys, we should keep this going!" Link said.

"What did you have in mind?" Red asked.

Link shrugged. "I don't know. We should just get together at night or something."

"How about in the garden?" Zelda suggested.

"The garden is pretty nice at night." Pit said. Red nodded in agreement.

"And the torches make it so pretty!" Peach said.

"So how about when we're all done with brawls for the day?" Link said.

Everyone agreed. Samus felt exhilarated by the idea.

* * *

Peach and Samus were the first at the garden. They had grabbed some of the chairs from the grill area and brought them down to the center of the garden. They arranged the chairs and the benches into a circle. They were soon joined by Link, Zelda, and the Ice Climbers. They all sat around, enjoying the cool evening air. Link and Zelda took a bench, as did the siblings. Peach and Samus each took a chair.

"What do you guys think of this place?" Samus asked.

"I like it!" Popo said.

"It's like a vacation!" Nana added.

"You guys must take weird vacations!" Link laughed. "What do you mean, Samus?"

"The Mansion?" Zelda asked.

Samus shook her head. "Not just the Mansion. I mean this whole fighting event."

The group heard some footsteps coming towards them. They looked over and saw Pit and Red joining them.

"Hey you two!" Peach greeted.

"Hey there." Red replied.

"What are you guys up to?" Pit asked. The two took up some chairs.

"Samus just asked what we thought of this place." Link said. The two looked at Samus.

"I suppose a better way to put it would be, how do you feel about it?" Samus clarified.

"Feel about what, though?" Nana asked.

"This place was made for us to come here and fight each other." Pit said. He shot Samus a quick knowing glance. "Yet here we are, making friends with the people we're supposed to consider rivals."

"Exactly." Samus said.

"I guess I never really thought about it like that." Peach said.

"I always saw it as a place to see new people." Zelda said. "Along with old friends."

Samus sat back, thinking about what everybody said. It seemed like people saw this place as something to look forward to, instead of how she used to see it. She had seen it as some place she just had to endure. She'd been to so many foreign places, that her ideals for alien planets just seemed to had stuck themselves to anywhere she wasn't used to.

"People can make the best of a bad situation, if they work hard enough." Red said.

"Even if they don't realize they're doing it." Link added.

"It's what can make anywhere feel like home." Zelda finished.

Samus thought about that. She even said it herself. She _had_ seen this place as foreign. Without realizing it, she had made herself comfortable in this place, with these people.

"What about you Samus?" Popo asked.

Samus gathered her thoughts her thoughts to speak, but got interrupted by Ike arriving.

"Hey guys." He said. They all greeted him. "I wasn't so sure about coming down here, but the food earlier was so good, I thought I should at least thank you guys for it."

"Not a problem!" Zelda smiled.

"Now that you're here, you may as well join us!" Peach said.

"Uh…" Ike scratched the back of his head. He looked back to the Mansion, then back to the group. "You know what? Yeah, sure, I'll stick around." Ike took a seat with the others. "So what;s been going on?"

"How do you feel about this place being made for us to fight each other?" Red asked.

Ike seemed slightly surprised at the question. He took a couple of seconds then said, "Hell, I don't know. I like that I can train here. And I have fun. I didn't think of it as just for fighting."

"That's what we've been saying." Link told him.

"I can strengthen myself here. Which is good, I can survive in the Mercenaries this way." Ike said.

"Mercenaries?" Nana asked.

"Yeah, I'm part of my father's mercenary group where I come from. I want to be a strong leader for them." Ike told them. "Link, you know what that's like."

Link nodded with a chuckle. "I was appointed as a general in my country's military. To be honest, I think the only reason I got the job was because the person in charge has a crush on me."

Zelda smiled and nudged him. "So what if she does? You still deserve it."

"I could use guys like you." Peach said, looking at her hands. "I love the Toads to death and they're so helpful. They just aren't very good guards."

"I get to lead an army of angels up in Skyland." Pit said.

Ike sat back. "Aaaand we have a winner."

"I saved the goddess Palutena and she appointed me to lead her army." Pit explained.

"Impressive!" Red commended.

"How 'bout you there, Red?" Ike asked.

"No armies, I'm just working to become the strongest Pokemon trainer there is." He explained, grabbing his three Poke balls and showing them off.

"Hey, why don't your Poke balls act the same as the Poke balls we see in brawls?" Popo asked.

"Oh." Red said, putting them back. "These Pokemon are actually recorded in my Pokedex. Each ball is imprinted with my Trainer ID. They can only be used by me. Well, efficiently as least. The Poke balls here have no ID number, so basically whoever touches it before it opens is the owner."

"So just whoever throws it?" Pit asked.

"Not even that. In these brawls, the last person to make contact becomes the owner of the Pokemon. If you touch it, and it isn't hurting you, right before it opens, it's yours."

"That's complex." Zelda said.

Red shrugged. "It's how they work in training schools where I come from."

The group quieted down a bit.

"So what about you two?" Link asked the Ice Climbers.

"We're orphans." Popo said.

"Our parents were part of a mountain climbing group. One day, they got lost in an avalanche." Nana explained.

"Oh, I'm so sorry…" Peach said.

"It's ok, Peach." Nana said, with a small smile.

"Yeah, the group they were a part of took us in, taught us how to climb." Popo said.

"Samus?" Pit asked. She looked at the angel. "What about you?"

"Oh, um… Kind of a mixture of all that." She said.

"How so?" Zelda asked.

"I'm an orphan too. And I used to be part of an army, the Galactic Federation Army."

"What happened to your parents?" Popo asked.

"Popo!" Peach yelled.

Samus held her hand up. "It's ok. I'm from a mining planet. One day, some bad people came to the planet hoping to steal the ore we had. My parents were killed in front of me."

"Samus…" Zelda said.

"How about the army, though?" Ike said, trying to change the subject. "How was that?"

"I sort of did a mixture of leaving and getting kicked out." She said, looking at the ground. "I questioned my commanding officer in a life or death situation."

"Oh…" Nana said.

"Are things ok with you and your officer now though?" Red asked.

"Things were a bit tense. We didn't see each other for a while." Samus paused and played with her fingers. "Adam had been a sort of father figure to me. It hurt. When we saw each other, things were getting better. But… He sacrificed his life to save me."

"Wow…" Pit said.

"So you don't have any family?" Nana asked.

"Um… Well, I had a little alien called a Metroid follow me around. I had been hired to exterminate the species, but as I was leaving the planet, the final Metroid egg hatched right in front of me. It seemed to think I was its mother. It even helped me escape the planet."

"That's cute!" Peach said, happy to hear something lighter.

"Yeah!" Pit agreed. "So where is it now?"

Samus just stared at the ground, trying to fight back her emotions. The group understood what she was going to say, and just sort of shuffled around uncomfortably. They also now understood her initial distance from everybody at the Mansion.

"None of that is your fault Samus." Zelda said, trying to console her.

Samus nodded. "No, I know." She paused again. "To be honest, though, it just seems like anybody who gets close to me…"

"No." Link said. "I know where that's going and no."

"He's right Samus." Peach said.

Samus looked at all of them. They were all given her small, considerate smiles. "Thank you. But this doesn't have to be a therapy session for me." She smiled back at them. "Let's enjoy the night."

And she meant it. She didn't need to worry about it. She had endured. She fought back. But the part of her that had been missing for so long had found its way back. The feeling of friendship, of belonging. She knew not everything was perfect now, but she was going to enjoy the feeling, not be cautious of it. That's what her new friends had taught her.

* * *

The nine of them sat out for a long while. Only until Nana started nodding off, did they decide to call it a night. They were just going to leave the chairs there, they might use them again.

As Samus went to her room she thought about what exactly had just happened. She was incredibly vulnerable without even realizing it. She didn't feel like she was when it happened, she was comfortable with her friends. She found a sort of surrogate home with them. And she was glad she got it off her chest. If there was any doubt of her being a cold person, surely it was cleared up now. In retrospect, she didn't know what she was scared of.

She put on her pajamas and went to close her curtains.

Outside her window, she saw storm clouds beginning to appear in the sky.


	7. Chapter 7

Samus woke up early. She sat up and stretched, taking a moment to appreciate the nice sleep. Raindrops hit her window. She wasn't sure she had ever seen it rain in all of her time at the mansion. Shrugging it off, she got up and decided to check the brawl schedule before showering.

She stepped into the hall, seeing Lucario walk by her as he headed for his room at the end of the mini hallway. He nodded as he passed, which Samus returned. She made for the Transporter Room. Glancing down the list she saw her name wasn't under any time slot. Surprisingly, she that there was a brand new Schedule Sheet. There was only one time slot on the paper. It said at 2:00 Sonic and Diddy would brawl. Nobody else had matches today, but the one brawl had a notice that all it was mandatory for all other fighters to Spectate on the match.

Confused, Samus went back into the hall and headed for the dining room, hoping the others would have an explanation for the sudden change in scheduling. As she passed through the lobby, she saw Pikachu staring out the front doorway. Pikachu turned around at the sound of her footsteps. He seemed anxious, ear down and a slight crouch in his posture.

"Feel like something isn't right here?" Samus asked him. Pikachu nodded. "Me too. I hope it's nothing. Is everybody getting breakfast?" Pikachu trotted over to Samus. He looked up at her and nodded.

Samus gave the mouse a small smile, hoping to raise his spirits a little. Unfortunately, it was to no avail. "Let's go join them."

Samus began walking down the hall and noticed Pikachu was staying right by her legs, not wanting to go off on his own. She stopped and kneeled down. Pikachu gave her a confused look and Samus smiled, opening her arms for him. He hopped into her arms, appreciatively. Peach was right.

The two entered the kitchen. Most people were there, only a few faces missing. They were all discussing what could be meant by the schedule change. Samus saw the tables were lengthened again. Seated there was Peach, Zelda, Nana, Popo, Link, Pit, Ike, and Red. They all had food, but it didn't seem like anyone had eaten very much. Samus walked to the last available seat beside Peach, letting Pikachu stay on her lap.

"Hi Samus." Peach said, being as cheerful as she could given the circumstances. Everybody else gave similarly pensive greetings.

"Hello everyone. Are you talking about the schedule?" Samus asked.

"Yes." Zelda nodded. "We're trying to figure it out."

"Talk about bizarre!" Ike said, noticeably annoyed. "Out of the blue like that. What's the Hand's game?"

Pit patted him on the shoulder. "No need to become angry from something confusing you."

Ike sat back with a grimace, arms folded. "Yeah, sure…"

"He brings up a good question, though." Red said.

"Yeah, why did Master Hand make such a sudden change?" Link asked. "And is there a reason for it being Diddy and Sonic to fight in the match?"

The group turned to the table of Diddy, Donkey Kong, Sonic, Marth, and Toon Link. Sonic seemed virtually distraught while the others discussed. Diddy was just quietly eating a banana.

"And why does he need all of to watch?" Popo threw in.

"Right after lunch too!" Nana added. "To guarantee we'll all be together before they fight."

"This is the first time he's done something like this." Samus mentioned. Link nodded. Only she and Link had been there for all three Smash events.

"I hope everything is ok…" Peach mulled to herself.

"Damn it!" Ike yelled, throwing his hands on the table, making everybody's dishes rattle. "It's like he did this on purpose! Just when everything is going good for us!"

"I really wish he would tell us why he's changing everything." Pit said, staring down at his plate.

Pikachu curled up even more in the bounty hunter's arms. There was a long silence as the group became lost in their thoughts. Then Samus spoke up.

"It's raining outside."

They all looked at her. "So? It's only a little rain." Link said.

She looked at the group. "Have you ever known the weather here to be anything but sunny?"

The 10 of them all turned and looked out the window.

"Now that you mention it…" Peach murmured.

"You think Master Hand has something to do with it?" Red asked.

"I don't see why he wouldn't." Ike said, eyes closed and arms folded. "Stupid thing controls everything else in this building."

"Yeah." Zelda said, nodding. "So then why would he change the weather at the same time as the schedule?"

There was a brief pause before Nana quietly said, "Something bad is going to happen, isn't it?"

Everybody looked at each other, all shifting nervously.

Link stood up. "Well! I'm stuffed!" Looking at his plate, you could see that he hadn't even taken a bite from it. "Who want's to go watch TV? You know, something to fill in the quiet moments?"

Zelda was the first to stand up with him; she smiled and grabbed his hand and the two walked to the lobby. The rest slowly joined, following the Hyruleans. Samus stayed back for a moment with Pikachu.

She looked at the yellow mouse, who was still a bit shaken. Samus thought he may have a level of animalistic instinct that told him something was coming.

_Not again… _She thought.

* * *

Samus was worried the day would drag on. However, it turns out the opposite was true. The day zoomed by until the inevitable match began. At 2:00, everybody gathered in the Spectator Room, but not before wishing both Diddy and Sonic luck.

Samus sat between Zelda and Peach in the middle row of chairs. The room was filled. Although it was written that spectating was mandatory, she was still surprised to see Snake, Wolf, Lucario, Bowser, Ganondorf, and Meta Knight. People were quietly chatting, just waiting for the match to begin.

All of a sudden, the viewers heard a voice coming from the Transporter Room next to them. It must've been Master Hand's voice coming from a loudspeaker of sorts. Something seemed off about it though. It was ominous and message was clearly only meant for the fighters, but its volume made it impossible for the rest to ignore.

"ATTENTION COMBATANTS." The voice rang out. "THIS MATCH WILL BE A SINGLE STOCK MATCH. THERE WILL BE NO TIME LIMIT. SMASH BALLS WILL BE THE ONLY ITEMS SUPPLIED DURING THE MATCH. FIGHT WITH ALL OF YOUR STRENGTH. YOU WILL NOW BE TRANSPORTED TO FINAL DESTINATION."

The group all turned to the screens. The countdown began, Diddy and Sonic materializing on the stage.

As "GO!" was yelled, Sonic ran right for Diddy. As he rolled at the chimp, Diddy, jumped over his opponent, peanut popgun in hand. He shot at Sonic, hitting the blue blur in the back of the head. Diddy threw a banana peel in front of Sonic, but it was easily avoided. Sonic ran up to the Kong and swung a kick at his face. Upon making contact, Diddy flew though the air. He was able to pull of his jetpack, and launch himself at Sonic.

Sonic jumped back and did an eagle dive kick at Diddy. Diddy took a step back, just narrowly dodging it, and swum around hitting the hedgehog with his tail.

* * *

As the fighting continued, the crowd watched silently.

_What happens to the loser?_ Samus wondered. She assumed everybody else was wondering the same thing. _There's so much tension for just one match. _

Peach turned to Samus and Zelda. "Why am I so scared?" She asked, fear visibly penetrating her usually bright demeanor. Samus grabbed her hand and gave a little smile.

"It's ok Peach." Zelda said. "We all are."

The three turned back to the fight.

* * *

Both fighters were breathing pretty heavily. The hits were becoming harder and harder to recover from. Then, the Smash Ball appeared. Both saw it and immediately began going for it. They both jumped in the air, but Diddy thrusted both of his legs at Sonic, sending him in the opposite direction. Fortunately, the Smash Ball changed it's direction and it met up with Sonic. He did a mid air spin, shattering the item.

Energy began flowing through Sonic, to the point of it radiating off of him. Terror struck Diddy as the 7 Chaos Emeralds appeared around Sonic. The hedgehog smirked at the chimp, then yelled, "Now I'll show you!"

A light exploded around Sonic and he emerged as his gold Super Sonic form. His red eyes looked straight at Diddy, he flew forward, and smashed right into his opponent. Diddy flew off the platform, a ray of light shooting from the barrier set. GAME! was yelled, signifying the end of the match.

Instead of the screen going black as it should've by now, it stayed white. Then, Diddy's fighter picture appeared on the screen. Below the picture were the words,

Diddy Kong:

ELIMINATED

The spectators stared at the screen for a few seconds before Ike yelled, "Oi! What the hell do you mean eliminated?!"

Sonic came into the room, panting. "Guys, Diddy didn't come back with me." He saw the screen and asked, "What does that mean? Eliminated?"

Falco stood up. "Hey, Hand! Where'd you put the monkey!?"

Donkey Kong stood up and screamed at the screen. He jumped in front of all of the chairs and tried smashing the screen. After a few failed attempts, DK charged out of the room, almost trampling Sonic.

Pit got up. "Come on! We have to make sure he doesn't destroy everything! Or hurt himself!"

The others all got up. Some charged out the door, others were more content to hang back and see how the events would unfold. Samus was one of the first out into the hall. She ran towards the lobby. When she arrived, she saw the front door had been smashed. DK was out on the sidewalk facing the house, looking up. The group ran out to the ape, who didn't seem to be paying any attention to them. They all stood outside with him, just past the broken glass from the entryway.

"Donkey Kong! Please calm down!" Peach called out.

"And get out of the rain!" Link called out.

"Come back in the Mansion!" Fox yelled.

Amidst everyone's yells to Donkey Kong, Samus noticed something bizarre about his behavior.

_Why isn't he paying attention to any of us?_ She thought to herself. Then she turned around and looked at the roof.

Samus gasped, then backed up until she was right beside DK.

"Samus?" Peach said.

"Look…" Samus said, pointing to the roof.

A few of them walked over to her and followed where she pointed. Even the stragglers were interested in what she was gesturing at. There, everybody saw what DK had been focusing on.

There on the roof, hovering about the chimney, was a man. Or, rather, what appeared to Samus to be the shape of a man. He was hunched over arms folded. He was a transparent teal color. He had no discernible eyes, yet she knew he was staring right at the group. There was something in his chest, something that was an opaque pink color.

"Who the hell are you?!" Ike demanded.

"Diddy Kong has been eliminated from the Mansion." It responded, in the same haunting robotic voice heard before the match.

"What do you mean by eliminated?" Captain Falcon asked.

"He will not return. He was defeated and thus has been eliminated." It responded.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Wolf asked, clearly threatened by this new presence.

"I am Tabuu."

"Taboo? What the hell, are we not supposed to talk about you or something?" Ike yelled.

"You misunderstand." Tabuu responded.

"Well, then tell us what's going on!" Red yelled. The fighters all began yelling at their visitor.

"Where's Master Hand?" Link asked.

"Bring Diddy back!" Mario screamed.

"Come down here and fight us!" Snake yelled.

Samus stood silently among all of the yelling voices. She was trying to make sense of what was going on.

"You guys." Samus said, but made little noise over the crowd. "Everyone! Quiet down!" Still, no results.

Then, Ganondorf charged up a Warlock Punch and smashed it into the ground. The shockwave shaking the ground, plus the loud crack of the ground made everything go dead silent except for the steady fall of the rain. Ganondorf nodded for Samus to continue.

Samus, slightly shocked, obliged. "I think Master Hand's gone."

"You are correct Samus Aran." Tabuu said.

"What's going on? Tell us everything!" Mario yelled.

"Very well." Tabuu began, never changing his position. "I am the being Tabuu. I have come to your dimension after millennia of observing. I have ridded the Mansion of its previous owner. You knew him as the Master Hand. He is of little importance. Relative to other fights I have made note of, the matches occurring in this Mansion are of a chaotic and unordered manner. I have come to bring order. An order that has been needed."

"What do you mean? What order?" Fox asked.

"Previously, matches were assembled in a random fashion." His voice brought a chill down Samus' spine. "Winning and losing were of no relevancy. There was nothing to gain or lose, fighting was occurring for no reason. I will let that continue no longer. I have come to the conclusion that there shall only be one brawl a day. There will only be two competitors per match with the same ruleset used in the match you have just witnessed. The loser of a match will be eliminated, never to return."

"What kind of order is that?" Link yelled. Samus backed up behind the everyone else.

"Think of it as incentive." Tabuu said.

"Incentive to what?" Wario asked.

"To think only of fighting." Tabuu said. "Do not distract yourself."

"Distract ourselves with what? Friends? Happiness?" Pit yelled.

"Call it what you wish." Tabuu said. "I have answered all questions of apposite topics. I will speak with you again as necessary." With that, Tabuu slowly faded away until he was gone completely.

"Necessary for us? Or for you?!" Snake yelled.

"So we won't get to see Diddy again?" Nana asked.

Zelda grabbed her hand, head bowed. "I'm afraid not, Nana…"

Everybody just stood in the rain, registering what they had just been told.

"I'm so sorry…" Samus said. She was hanging her head, letting her bangs cover her face.

"Samus?" Peach asked, slowly walking towards her friend.

"This is my fault. This is what happens when I get close to people. I warned myself. I warned you. This was always going to happen." Samus lifted her head. She was stone faced, but they could see the tears pouring from her eyes, then blending in with the rain. "Once again my presence is tearing people apart. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten in over my head."

Samus walked through the group. She stepped over the glass and just made for her room, as the others stood there, speechless.


End file.
